Leveraging the Right Combination of Traditional & Digital Marketing

With upwards of 40,000 realtors currently operating in Toronto and surrounding areas, marketing is an integral part of your real estate success. The problem with marketing today is trying to determine whether to focus on digital, or traditional marketing platforms to achieve the best results. In order to maximize your exposure and place yourself ahead of the competition, the short answer is leveraging the right combination of both.

Virtually all Sales Begin Online
Studies have shown more than 90 percent of buyers will have done some research online before contacting a real estate agent. This figure accounts for those who browse available homes and others who use the Internet to research a local agent they feel would work well for them. Conversely, people looking to sell their homes rely on the Internet to see what agents in their area have not only a strong online presence, but also how many listings they have and the average turnover. Without a strong online presence, you will be at a serious disadvantage over realtors who invest in digital marketing.

Consider the Senior Market
Considering the strong case for the popularity of digital marketing among real estate clients, you may think traditional marketing would be a waste of your investment. While this form of marketing has certainly taken a back seat to digital, it is still a critical part of your success as a realtor. There is a large portion of our population that falls into the senior age category. Due to downsizing and moves to retirement facilities, this is profitable market for Toronto real estate professional. The earliest of those born in the baby boomer era have not widely adopted computers or mobile technology and must be reached by the mediums they are most likely to rely on for information. For this group, direct mail, television ads and newspaper ads are paramount to attracting their business.

Combining your Marketing Efforts
Traditional marketing can also boost your online success. If your name and likeness appear on signage, business cards and strategically-placed ads that catch your target market's attention, they will remember your name when they get online to do their research. Since one of the greatest challenges of digital marketing lies in placing highly in search engine results locally, the more people exposed to your information in their daily lives, the better. Further, including your web properties on all of your print media will give potential clients a starting point for their research when they are ready to buy or sell.

Determining the Best Marketing Mix
Leveraging the right combination of digital and traditional marketing is largely dependent on the demographics of your target market and your budgeted spend. While online marketing can be inexpensive compared to other mediums, if you do the work yourself it takes considerable time and effort to place yourself as an expert and to have your information returned in the first few results for local searches. Since traditional marketing methods are no longer the first source of information for most people, allocating a smaller portion of your advertising budget and a concise strategy will produce the best results.

Regardless of the ratio you decide on for your marketing strategy, be sure to monitor the metrics to see where you are achieving the greatest return on your investment. When you find weak areas, alter them to get better results, or stop them all together to invest in a new strategy. Before long, you will have honed your marketing mix and secured your share of the lucrative Toronto real estate market.

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